Issue #1 – Jem and the Holograms
Title: Jem and the Holograms #1
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Sophie Campbell (with extra covers by Amy Mebberson)
The Buzz: What isn’t the buzz? Nostalgia for classic 80’s cartoon Jem and the Holograms is at an all time high because of the movie-in-development, and so word of this comic got bounced around the web in a girlpower frenzy. (More recently, the news that adorable girlfriends Kimber and Stormer will actually have a proper Hologram/Misfit star-crossed romance in the comic meant everything got even more high-pitched, we’re not even squeeing now, we’re just breaking the sound barrier.
All You Need To Know: They’re truly, truly, truly outrageous. Oh, okay. If you were living under a rock or possibly more interested in Transformers in the 80’s (or not even born yet, shoot me now), Jem is the story of a bunch of orphaned foster kids who have their own rock band.
Lead singer Jem is actually band manager Jerrica in disguise thanks to a legacy of magic super science holograms, and they embark in all kinds of Battle of the Bands shenanigans against the wicked, ethically compromised Misfits (WE ARE THE MISFITS OUR SONGS ARE BETTER) to raise money and keep the orphanage open. They sing, they dance, they have their own film clips, and yes there was a toy line, shut up, it’s awesome.
Story: This 21st century reboot already has my attention because it has a plot that makes sense, unlike my beloved original cartoon (which, I discovered upon rewatching with my daughter who um is named Jem, shut up, is based on a crazy secrecy premise for no apparent reason). This first issue focuses on the sisters Jerrica, Kimber, Aja and Shana, who desperately want to enter a music video contest against the Misfits, but are stymied by Jerrica’s crippling stage fright. Synergy, their dad’s holographic legacy, comes to life during a storm and presents Jerrica with the power to become someone else…
Sure, they may still end up with the stupid plot line where Jerrica dates the boy she likes as both of her identities, forcing him to cheat on her despite the fact that there is no actual reason why he shouldn’t know she is Jem. But there are no boys at all in this first issue, just sisters trying to support each other and make music. The portrayals of all four characters is great and I already like Jerrica 10x better than the original 80’s version of her. Kimber is the funniest and the best.
Art: The involvement of Amy Mebberson (she of the amazing Tumblr fan project Pocket Princesses, and the My Little Pony comics) would have sucked me in, but oh my god, where has Sophie Campbell been all my life? Her art is vivid and extraordinary with a fierce use of colours absolutely worthy of the original cartoon. The four main characters come across gorgeously with sweet facial expressions and a nice range of body types (this new trend of letting ladies in comics sometimes have thighs, I like it). The fashion is extreme and very modern – as Kelly Thompson puts it in her afterword, the original cartoon was magnificently 1986 and this comic has to be magnificently 2015 – but still harks back to the styles of the original characters. Kimber’s redesign including a modernised version of her original New Romantic style costume is fabulous but my favourite so far is Aja. I want to eat this comic with a spoon.
But What Did I Miss?: THE EIGHTIES, MAN, I WAS THERE. Nah, this is a brand new story for a brand new generation, and I’m going to be reading it to my five year old as soon as she gets home from school. My ten year old might feel there’s a bit too much pink in it but I will lure her in with the promise of holograms. No preparation required, except to watch this:
Would Read Issue 2?: Try and stop me.
Read it if you Like: Fun.
PREVIOUS ISSUE #1 POSTS
Thor #1 (2014)
Spider-Woman #1 (2014)
All-New Captain America #1 (2014)
Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #1 (2014)
S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2014)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (2015)
Bitch Planet #1 (2014)
Secret Six #1 (2014)
Operation: S.I.N. #1
Spider-Gwen #1
Curb Stomp #1
